“Ponte Novello”: New Bridge Jay D’Amico is an innovator with a deep appreciation of the past - a jazz pianist, composer and musical arranger whose invention is influenced by 15th & 16th century Italian bel canto operatic melodies merged with his version of American jazz. The amalgam is a creative explosion and precedent-setting convergence of musical expression. With his latest CD, Ponte Novello, the Jay D’Amico Jazz Ensemble, the artist has literally bridged the divide across age-old Italian tradition and contemporary jazz culture, crafting a blend that moves the interpretation of musical heritage one step further in time. For D’Amico, the combination of Italian musical culture and the polyrhythmic traditions of jazz is part of an evolution - the Americanization of Italian tradition - that is second-nature and a phenomenon that affects food, wine, music and much more. The heritage of Italian-American customs brought to the U.S. from places ...